Exploring Wonders
by BellaMia595
Summary: Hermione just wants to get away for a while, go on a trip, alone. She decides to go on a cruise across the ocean. She's in for a ride of a lifetime. A DMHG Fanfic.
1. Day One: The Cabin

******Disclaimer: **I do not own the fabulous world Harry Potter. I do not own the whole plot, I got this idea from reading Caribbean Cruising, which is a good romance book! Though I do not own either of these books, the boat most of the story takes place is my own creation.

******Exploring Wonders**

******Day One: The Cabin**

Ginny waved enthusiastically as her friend waved back to them from the now retreating ship. Ginny knew she would miss Hermione, but she also knew that this was what her friend needed. She needed to get out, meet someone new, and start over.

"I still think one of us should have gone with her." Ron Weasley stated as he waved goodbye one last time.

"Ron, I'm sure she'll survive by herself. You know this is exactly what she needs and besides, we're really busy so we wouldn't be able to go."

"And she'll only be gone for three weeks. It will do her good to get away and meet new witches and wizards." Harry wrapped his arm around his wife and watched as the ship met the horizon.

"I know mate, I just hate to see her all upset. Good day." Ron disappeared into the cool summer air.

Hermione watched from the back of the ship until she could barely see them in the crowd among the boarding dock. She then turned and headed to check in at the front desk.

After she had received her information package, she headed to her cabin. The cruise ship had five decks. She soon found, what looked like to her, a pair of elevators. She tapped her wand to the green triangle. Not even a moment later, she came face to face with a man dressed in a light blue tux jacket, with black pants and shoes. To complete the look, the man sported a light blue hat on his head that matched his jacket.

"Good day Miss, which deck?"

"Good day, and the third deck, please."

Hermione barely finished saying her sentence before she felt a familiar tug behind her navel. The next moment she was standing on a wooden platform. When she looked at the sign that hung before her, she knew she was on the third deck.

She turned and bid a goodbye to the transporter named Andy and set off down the hall in search of her cabin. Each number on the doors she passed grew larger each time.

"One forty-two, one forty-three, one forty-four… Ah, one forty-nine." Hermione finally reached her cabin door. Opening the door, she was astonished at the sight before her.

She walked in and looked inside the bathroom, which was the second door on her right. The first door held a linen closet, with her formalwear clothes hung neatly. The bathroom was big and spacious, with nice maroon colored marble tiles, covering the floor and counters.

The tub was what drew Hermione in. She loved to take baths and relax herself. That was exactly what she planned to do on this cruise, relax, while meeting new people. This tub was big, had jets and many faucets around it, some holding water, some scented bubble baths. Pleasant scented candles huddled around the tub, giving the room an even more relaxing aura.

Hermione walked over to her four-poster king sized bed. On the left side of it, stood a nice cherry wood dresser and on the right of the bed, a smaller table huddled in the corner with some more scented candles hovering over it. She saw that her trunk had already been brought up and everything was put into place, the trunk placed out of the way under the bed.

She finally turned and opened the sliding glass door to the balcony. She stepped out and looked at the view. Since they had just left port, you could still see the shore faintly. Hermione felt the wind scuffle her hair and she listened to the quiet.

Hermione walked behind the coffee table and sat down on the couch, pulling out the folder she received when she checked in. She opened it up and read the note welcoming all passengers aboard from the Captain. Next, she read the itinerary for the cruise.

"We left port in Middlesbrough… Our first stop is Paris, France, in three days…" Hermione read to herself. She then went on to look over the other papers in the folder. One booklet contained a list of all the restaurants and advertisement of the food being served, along with different nightclubs and movie theatres with showings on the ship.

She looked through them, trying to decide on what to do that night. She finally decided to have a nice dinner and go to a bar afterwards to check it out. It was only 3:30 and dinner wasn't served till 5pm or later. With this in mind, Hermione picked up the last list in the folder. 'Entertainment' was the title and underneath was a list of all activities, from dance shows, special events to spa treatments and workout areas on the ship.

Hermione decided she would go check out the swimming pools and spa/workout area. She grabbed her purse that held her wand and key to the cabin and headed out the door.

Outside, in the hallway, she saw a couple walking hand in hand past her. They nodded politely to her and continued walking to their own cabin. Hermione rolled her eyes at how they were obviously in love and walked to the teleport and got out her wand. After touching the red button, indicating that she wanted to go down, two doors opened to reveal Andy in his uniform again. Walking into the teleport, she nodded.

"Main Deck please."

She had been expecting the feeling behind her navel but it still caught her off guard. She stumbled forward a little as they came to a sudden halt.

"The Main Deck."

"Thank you." Hermione started to feel a little nauseous for a second but soon the feeling left. She walked out and looked around. This deck was more open, allowing the view of the water.

Hermione noticed that the sun was shining on the deck and as she looked up towards what, on any muggle boat, would have been the ceiling but instead she saw it enchanted to look like the weather outside. This made her think of Hogwarts.

She continued to look around the deck. There were two separate pools, one a little bigger than the other, which spread out across the deck. As Hermione looked closer at the one she was standing near, she knew why. There were many kids and families in this pool. Hermione had to quickly move to the other pool when a little girl squealed and laughed loudly as her father picked her up out of the water and playfully tossed her back in the water. Hermione noticed that the other pool had no kids in it and it was peaceful.

'I should come down here tomorrow and read while going for a refreshing dip.' Hermione would make sure she made time to do just that.

She continued to walk and came to a sliding glass door. Inside, she saw that it was the "Work-Out Area". All the walls, except for one, were all floor-to-ceiling glass walls. There were people scattered around, working out, getting a drink or asking for assistance. One thing that caught her attention was a witch jogging in place on a semi-long track. She had her wand out, and was flicking it as she jogged faster. Hermione had read about them and the wizard who designed them, Logan Conners in the Wiz-Itch Magazine.

Walking to the back of the Work-Out Area, there was a door on the wall that wasn't made of glass. Marked on this door was "Spa Paradise". Opening the door, Hermione walked into the waiting room. There was a reception desk next to a few chairs. She moved towards the reception desk and waited her turn to speak with the receptionist as a lady ahead of her was deciding what treatment she wanted.

"Good Afternoon Madam, how can I help you?" The receptionist finally turned to Hermione after the first customer was sent for her treatment.

"Yes, I would like to get a message package." Hermione didn't know what treatment she wanted so she was given a pamphlet explaining each package. Finally, Hermione chose the "All-Star Package". She felt this would help her really relax and get ready for a night of dancing and mingling. She hoped to mingle anyways.

"Come right this way, please."

Hermione followed the assistant to a room with soft scented candles, soft music playing in the background, just loud enough to be heard over the soft tinkling of the waterfall in the corner. She was then instructed to change out of her clothes and climb onto the table, face down, with the provided towel wrapped her waist.

When she was ready, two men came in to give her a massage. It was called 'The Four Hand Muscle Melt' and the name describes it perfectly. Two masseuses work the muscles and relieve stress, pain and tenseness.

After they were done, they left her to put on the robe provided and she got a facial, manicure and pedicure, both with a cotton candy color nail polish. Once she was all polished, she was led to the hot tub for a few minutes and then she went into the sauna for another few minutes.

When she was all dry and steamed, the first assistant led her to another door. The assistant turned towards Hermione and asked for her room key. When Hermione gave it to her, she turned back and placed it in the key holder. When the light flashed green, the assistant opened the door.

Hermione realized she was in her room the moment the door opened. She had heard about these doors. As long as you have the right key or, in some cases, picture of the room, it will appear once you open the door, without having to teleport or apparate.

After retrieving her key, she thanked the assistant and continued to get ready for the night, as it was now 4:30.

**A/N: **I am still deciding where to go with this story. Please tell me your thoughts, thank you!

Happy Thanksgiving to all those celebrating!


	2. Night One: Dinner and a Dance

******Disclaimer: ****I do not own the fabulous world Harry Potter. I do not own the whole plot, I got this idea from reading Caribbean Cruising, which is a good romance book! Though I do not own either of these books, the boat most of the story takes place is my own creation.**

******Exploring Wonders**

******Night One: Dinner and a Dance**

When 4:55 rolled around, she did some touch ups and looked in the mirror. She was dressed in a nice, casual, but a little flirty black silk dress that clung to her curves just slightly. The hem came down past her knees, showing just enough of her long slender legs.

She grabbed a little black purse that matched her dress. She made sure she had everything of importance in it; room key, wand and, as if in memory of Ginny, lipstick. Then she headed out the door.

"Good evening Madam. I am Anthony and I will be your server for this evening. How about a drink to start?" The waiter handed Hermione the dinner menu and waited for her response. Then he quickly pulled out his wand and conjured her order. He then left her to look at the menu.

Hermione finally chose what she wanted and ordered. Once the waiter left again, she looked around the restaurant. The place was filling quickly with people and chatter. There was soft music playing from the live band on the stage, which was dimly lit.

All of a sudden, Hermione felt like she was being watched. She looked around her, trying to find the culprit but found no one. She quickly went on examining the restaurant. She just then realized that the restaurant was French. The signs were written in French, with English following after to translate, the artwork on the walls were paintings of the Eiffel Tower, Notre-Dame, La Santa Capella, and other French places.

'Must be because our first stop is in France.'

The waiter soon brought her food and she began to eat. Soon after she started eating her Lentil, Garbanzo and Tomato Salad, and then Chicken Cordon Blue, she felt like she was being watched again.

'I'm probably just being paranoid.' She shrugged it off as she finished her dinner. Soon after she was done, with her plate, the waiter took it away for her and brought out her desert of Crème Brulee. She ate it while a little of her conscious was aware of the culprit watching her so she only enjoyed the tasty desert a little.

When she finally finished all her dinner, desert and two cups of tea, she tipped the waiter and left. She had asked the waiter where a club was located on the cruise and so she went on her way.

Outside the club, it was really quiet, but as soon as Hermione opened the door, it was the exact opposite. Music was blaring loudly; different colors of fire would change from red to blue to green and so on, in the torches around the club. It was packed with witches and wizards dancing, sitting, drinking and trying to talk over the loud music.

Despite all the noise, Hermione walked inside. She found the bar near the back of the club and sat down on one of the stools surrounding the bar. She ordered an 'Adult' Pumpkin Juice from the bartender and looked around, trying to find someone to talk to. There was a table of five nearby. They were chatting and laughing as one guy told them something, using gestures with his hands as he spoke.

She continued to look around and spotted a guy looking at her. At first glance, Hermione thought he was kind of cute with his black hair, dark brown eyes and a fit body. But as he smiled at her, she was not impressed with his yellow teeth. Her parents, being dentists, would not approve of this man's clearly lack of personal hygiene. Despite this, she found herself smiling back weakly at him.

Just her luck, the guy seemed to take her not-so-much-smile as an invitation to join her. Hermione mentally cringed at the thought.

"Hi, my name is William. May I buy you a drink?" Hermione turned away as the bar tender brought her Pumpkin Juice. "Or at least buy you a refill?"

She took a sip of it, thankful for a distraction from the guy. She smiled apologetically.

"I would love to but I'm meeting somebody. Sorry." She added as she saw the disappointment flash across his face.

"It's alright, maybe another time." He smiled politely before walking away. Hermione felt bad but she soon was looking around the club again. Not having much luck finding anyone else to talk to, she paid the bartender for her drink and left.

Outside was quiet and peaceful. She walked to the railing and peered out at the darkened sky. The only thing that occupied the sky was the moon, half-hidden behind dark clouds.

As she stood out on the deck, gazing at the view, she thought of the day she had.

'It's a little lonely with no one to talk to but they did have the great service at the spa and I just _loved_ the treatments. Tomorrow, I'll go to the gym in the morning and check out the pools after. There's also that itinerary I can look at to figure out what else I could do.'

She soon decided to start to head back to her room. She walked to the teleport area inside. As she stepped in, she wasn't the only person, besides Derek, another teleporter. There was a woman, who seemed to be about the same age as Hermione, who stood with the look of elegance and poise. She smiled and said hello to Hermione, who returned her hello.

"My name is Payton Buel. Are you traveling with anyone?" Payton asked in a polite manner, while offering her hand.

"Hermione Granger, pleased to meet you." She replied as they shook hands. "And no I am not traveling with anyone. And you?"

"No, my fiancé was supposed to join me, but he had a lot of work he needed to catch up on at the office."

"Oh that's too bad, this cruise is great so far." Payton agreed as they came to a stop at Hermione's floor.

"I know we just met and we don't know each other, but I was wondering if you would like to meet tomorrow morning for a cup of coffee and talk some more?" Payton asked with questioning eyes.

Hermione gladly accepted since she was looking for some company. They bid each other goodnight and Hermione went to her room.

As soon as she got inside, she brushed her teeth and got ready for bed and grabbed her newest book she had started reading only a week ago. Not soon after, she was engrossed in her favorite pastime, next to being with her friends.

She finally went to sleep around midnight, oblivious to everything happening on the rest of the ship.

**A/N: **I would like to dedicate this chapter to my first 4 reviewers! Thanks! You actually gave me some ideas for this story. I'm still not quite sure how I want to go about this story yet, but we'll see!


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